Summary of YAL Book that serves as anchor text for the chapter
Dogsong by Gary Paulsen is a fiction book for 6th-8th graders. In the book, 14-year-old Russel Susskit leads a dog team on a dangerous adventure across the frozen Alaskan wilderness. His life-changing journey is haunted by dreams of an ancient warrior who life seems to, oddly, parallel this own. The Amazon description of the book reads, "Something is bothering Russel Susskit. He hates waking up to the sound of his father's coughing, the smell of diesel oil, the noise of snow machines starting up. Only Oogruk, the shaman who owns the last team of dogs in the village, understands Russel's longing for the old ways and the songs that celebrated them. But Oogruk cannot give Russel the answers he seeks; the old man can only prepare him for what he must do alone. Driven by a strange, powerful dream of a long-ago self and by a burning desire to find his own song, Russel takes Oogruk's dogs on an epic journey of self-discovery that will change his life forever." Accolades:
A Newbery Honor Book
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
An ALA Notable Book
A School Library Journal Best Book
Summary of Chapter:
By tracing myths in ancient stories and songs in literature, readers are given a perspective on literature that result from our culture inheritance of mythological universe. This way of reading reflects the principles of archetypal theory. By reading Dogsong, a novel based on the quest motif and the hero's journey makes us more aware of our mythological conditioning; archetypes are so pervasive in cultures that story tellers use them unconsciously. In Dogsong, the archetypal patterns are in the characters, attesting to the power of myth in human life.
Understanding the relationship between myth and archetype is crucial to working with the literary theory of archetypes. Myths are stories with which primitive people explain why things happen in nature. Myths are not true because they contain exaggeration characters and events. Archetypal theory redefines myth. According to it, myths are always true; they have specialized social functions in society- they are stories that tell a society what is important for it to know and with time mythology becomes a component in the creation of a cultural history. They encircle a culture and story patterns become a community property for human race. This interconnection serves as the basis of archetypal theory.
When examining components of archetypal theory, one can look at elements like story patterns, characters, themes, symbols, and images. These elements are productions of cultural patterns and can be found in literature, paintings, dances, carvings, dreams, sacred rituals, and are manifestations of they human psyche.
Monomyth is defines as a hero who goes on an adventure and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, and then comes home changed or transformed. Therefore, it has 3 stages: separation, initiation, and return. The hero breaks away or departs from the local social order and its context is where he has an identity. He takes a long retreat, not only back in time but also inward into the psyche that take into terrifying encounters which lead him to a centering experience that brings courage and harmony to his life.
Dogsong is broken down throughout the chapter to reflect Campbell's pattern's of monomyth. The novel demonstrates principles of archetypal theory. Creating myths answer basic human needs and is inherited in our own thinking process. They create a matrix which literature emerges historically and psychologically. Elements of literature in myths and folklore are complicated and fluid. Archetypal patterns of the quest that occurs in Dogsong is the foundations of many coming-of-age stories in the field of YAL.
Part One: Departure is seen in the first five chapters ( The Trance)
Part Two: Initiation is seen in the the next 9 chapters ( The Dreamrun)
Part Three: Return is seen in the final chapter or section ( Dogsong)
3-5 takeaways from the chapter in terms of thinking about how you and others might integrate literary theory into the teaching of YAL based on how you experienced your reading of the chapter.
The hero archetype appears in every culture; it's a favorable mold of humanity. Teachers can use diverse books for differentiation.
An archetype is a pattern of character types, images, descriptive details and plot patterns that find their way from our minds to our myths to our literature to our lives. YAL is rich in archetypes and students can connect to the literature in reader response journals by trying to understand characters, themes, and the whole thought process.
We all respond to archetypes in the same way because our minds are programmed by thousands of years of human experience. From dreams to myths, the stories we told to explain our world and community reveal our instinctual life.
We can use archetype theory to analyze YAL with a different lens.It helps students understand the way in which literature and popular culture work together to create the collective unconscious, that is, those images related to the deepest, more permanent aspects of the people's lives including death, fear, love, ambition, family, and the unknown.
The characters can be analyzed with a role or function like: the hero, death, the mentor, the friendly, the scapegoat, the devil, the outcast, the Earth mother, the perfect woman, the damsel in distress.
Imagery can be a form of symbolism: tree can symbolize life or immortality; the desert can symbolize hopelessness or death; water can symbolize purification or redemption; colors can have a language on its own- ex: red can be symbolic to passion, blood, violence, (depending on culture)
Narrative patterns are useful ways of perceiving the world through experience. Student can decode their thoughts to get a better understanding of the transformation the characters are going through.
Summary of YAL Book that serves as anchor text for the chapter
Dogsong by Gary Paulsen is a fiction book for 6th-8th graders. In the book, 14-year-old Russel Susskit leads a dog team on a dangerous adventure across the frozen Alaskan wilderness. His life-changing journey is haunted by dreams of an ancient warrior who life seems to, oddly, parallel this own. The Amazon description of the book reads, "Something is bothering Russel Susskit. He hates waking up to the sound of his father's coughing, the smell of diesel oil, the noise of snow machines starting up. Only Oogruk, the shaman who owns the last team of dogs in the village, understands Russel's longing for the old ways and the songs that celebrated them. But Oogruk cannot give Russel the answers he seeks; the old man can only prepare him for what he must do alone. Driven by a strange, powerful dream of a long-ago self and by a burning desire to find his own song, Russel takes Oogruk's dogs on an epic journey of self-discovery that will change his life forever."Accolades:
Summary of Chapter:
3-5 takeaways from the chapter in terms of thinking about how you and others might integrate literary theory into the teaching of YAL based on how you experienced your reading of the chapter.